PHOTOSFrom Child Star To Pop Princess — The Evolution Of Britney Spears
Britney Spears has been a pop culture icon and trendsetter since she first started out in Hollywood in the early nineties. Since launching her career on the singing competition show Star Search in 1991, she has conquered the highs and lows of fame and fortune. Her life was a circus and she was the ringleader. She's been reigning as the Princess of Pop since her debut and she shows no signs of slowing down. Scroll through to take a look back at Britney's rise, fall and eventual comeback.
Young Britney earned her coveted Mickey Mouse ears when she became a part of the child cast of The Mickey Mouse Club in 1996. She starred alongside pre-Hollywood starlets like Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling and Christina Aguilera.
The now-37-year-old's first two albums, "…Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" were released in 1999 and 2002. She recorded them with Jive Records and it instantly launched her into super stardom.
Like a snake shedding it's skin (pun intended), the pop star appeared at the 2001 Video Music Awards where she performed her hit, "I’m a Slave 4 U." A live yellow python was the main attraction as it sat on her shoulders as she sang and danced. Her new sexy sound and scantily outfit proved to the world that she was done being the girl next door.
Britney and Justin were two of the biggest young artists in the world by 2001 with their music successes. They began dating in 1998 and became a power couple for the ages. One of their most memorable appearances together was when they rocked their epic denim look on the 2001 American Music Awards' red carpet. But alas, all good things must come to an end and the two broke fans' hearts in 2002. Cue Justin's iconic breakup song, "Cry Me A River" as a result of the split.
The Louisiana-native made her feature film debut in the 2002 comedy film, Crossroads. It was a critical failure but performed well at the box office.
Fans will never forget Britney, Madonna and Xtina's infamous 2003 VMA performance when the trio locked lips. Justin's horrified facial expression also became an iconic moment during kiss that stemmed thousands of hilarious memes. This was also during Britney's "Toxic" and "In the Zone" era when she was still working hard to let go of her good girl image.
The pop star married for the first time in 2004 to Jason Allen Alexander. But the union was annulled just 55 hours later. Shortly after, she met and married fellow dancer Kevin Federline and their relationship was highly scrutinized by the media. They had two children, Sean and Jayden. In 2006, she filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.
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Britney's "Umbrella Incident" shocked the world in 2007 when she fought with paparazzi. Right before the episode occurred, she shaved her head entered a drug rehab center and lost custody of her children. Her downward spiral was possibly caused by her divorce, which she filed a year prior.
After her whirlwind troubles stunned the nation, the "Piece of Me" crooner decided to attempt to make a comeback to the VMA stage in 2007. She disastrously performed "Gimme More" off of her new "Blackout" record. Soon after, to make matters worse, she refused to give custody to Kevin in January 2008. Britney was ultimately admitted to a UCLA psychiatric ward and was placed under conservatorship of her father, Jamie Spears.
Her real comeback came in 2008 when she released her "Circus" record. She came back stronger and better than ever and the success eventually led to a groundbreaking concert tour the following year.
Hot off the heels from her tour, Britney recorded and released her 2011 album "Femme Fatale." She also scored a gig judging the The X Factor from 2011-2012.
The "Pretty Girls" songstress kept rising from ashes when she went to work on her eighth studio album, "Britney Jean" in 2013. She also spend the next four years performing in her Las Vegas Residency show "Britney: Piece of Me" at the Planet Hollywood Resort.
The "Make Me..." singer then released her ninth studio album, "Glory," in 2016. The album featured guest vocals from rapper G-Eazy and Tinashe.
Britney is currently dating 25-year-old Iranian-American Sam Asghari. The couple has been going strong for almost three years since he appeared in her “Slumber Party” music video. Aside from her steady relationship, she achieved Las Vegas cult status when she announced her second residency show, Britney: Domination, which was set to launch on February 13, 2019. But she cancelled the show when her father was hospitalized and "almost died." The stress of her father's health battles caused her to enter a mental wellness facility in April.
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